To Help the Sky Look Forward to the Future
by Siriusgirl1
Summary: Her mother had said that their blood was cursed. That they were all born to die, and she should remember that, when, or if, the time came. For their Fates were set in stone. But, this time, could she risk hoping that things would turn out differently?


**A/N**

I had been planning on writing something Uni-centric before, but I didn't really get around to typing out any of the possible idea in my head. _But_, I've been at home these last few days, recovering from a rather horrid flu, and...I suppose I just started writing this. This was specifically based on and inspired by chapters 276-280 of the manga, and, as you'll notice, I used a few lines from them, as seen on OneManga.

**Disclaimer: **It all belongs to Amano Akira. As much as I wish a few of 'em (_cough_Xanxu_scough_Uni_cough_Dino_cough_Yamamoto_coughLambocough_Gamma_...)_ belonged to me, they don't.

Hope you enjoy this!

* * *

**To Help the Sky Look Forward to the Future:**

"_You're really going to do this, aren't you? You're really going to sacrifice your life for those pacifiers!"_

"_Wait-!! There's no reason for you to sacrifice yourself to revive the Arcobaleno!"_

"_Their revival is crucial in order to return you all to a peaceful past. And in turn... it will save many innocent lives as well. This is my destiny, which I cannot escape from."_

I... I'm scared...

I'm scared of death.

Mother. Grandmother. Everyone –I'm...scared...

I don't want to die.

...I don't want to die a-alone-!

"_It's alright!! Let's think of another way around this! We'll think of something –I'm _sure_ we'll think of something-!!"_

...But if I falter...the consequences will be severe.

We are all born...born to die, right?

No matter how old, or how y-young.

The Sky Arcobaleno has always had a short lifespan, right?

Grandmother? Mother?

"_There's no other way. I'm sorry, I'll be fine. Thank you, everyone."_

It's for the best.

It must be done.

I cannot afford to hesitate, now that we've come this far.

"_Hey Princess." _This voice...!_ "I finally get to see you, only to have you slip away yet again. That's not very fair is it?" _...Why? Why are you –what are you – _"Won't you use my flames too?"_

No...I...I... _"I won't leave you alone."_

G-Gamma...

Gamma...

_Oh _Gamma.

"_I..."_

"_Come on, that's not the face to show at a time like this. That's not what your mother taught you, is it?"_

No, it's not. Mother taught me to...smile. To smile with my heart, when I'm happy.

Am I happy?

Am I happy to die?

No. I'm happy that I'm not alone.

I'm happy because it will all be over.

That's all.

Gamma...everyone...

_Thank you._

"_UNI!"_

* * *

The screams left her opened mouth without her even realising it, just as the darkness overwhelmed her. Her head tossed from side to side against the soft pillow it was resting on, and her small hands were tightly gripping the sheets she had kicked off her body at some point during the night.

Fear continued to grip her very soul, even as her heart pounded in her ears. A whimper left her lips as her still-closed eyes saw nothing but darkness for miles, and _miles_ ahead of her –nothing but a never ending _darkness_.

Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, and the back of her neck, but she didn't notice them, her brows furrowed instead against the continuing onslaught of darkness and fear.

She could still hear it, that scream.

It was a hard scream to describe. It was as though the one screaming was in a great deal of pain. Or perhaps he –or she, but she thought that it sounded more masculine- was on the verge of crossing over into the domain of hysteria and something close to temporary insanity.

It was a scream that chilled her, to her very core...and it _wouldn't stop echoing inside her head._

She was barely aware of the footsteps in the corridor outside, or of the sound of the door being thrown open as someone entered the room.

"Princess! What is it?" Her mind was barely able to process the words, for her ears were still ringing with _that scream_, and her heart was still pounding in them, fearfully. She rolled over to her side, drawing her knees up as she clasped her hands over her ears.

She didn't _want _to hear. She didn't want to hear _anything_.

The hands on her shoulders momentarily broke through the nightmarish orchestra of echoing screams and heartbeats, and she found herself focusing on them, _forcing_ herself to focus on their almost kind, gentle warmth as it seeped through the drenched fabric of her nightdress.

_These hands..._

She struggled against the darkness, the cruel darkness that seemed to force her eyes to stay shut, as though to forever turn her away from the light that she so desperately needed.

Eventually, she managed to force one eye half open, only to cringe when she was met with more darkness.

The hands on her shoulders tightened their grip ever so slightly. "Princess –_princess_, can you hear me?" But that voice was familiar, so she focused on it too until she was able to see the blurred image of a familiar face.

Tousled golden hair, thin eyebrows drawn in concern, and warm, warm, _warm_ eyes looking down at her.

"_I won't leave you alone."_

Her other eye snapped open too, as she stared at the man kneeling by her bedside.

"G-Gam...ma?" she whispered, wondering why her voice sounded so hoarse.

"Princess?"

She swallowed against the hardening lump in her throat.

"W-When I first met you... you said...you said you are willing to sacrifice your life for mine..." She swallowed again. "Didn't you?"

She ignored the surprise that took over his concerned features for a brief moment, choosing to simply stare at him, her eyes, so large and so _blue_ never wavering.

He nodded.

"I did," he confirmed. "But, princess, what does that-"

"I forbid you from fulfilling that promise."

The warm eyes widened.

"Princess?"

Her eyes were shadowed as she stared at him for a moment longer.

"Did mama have these dreams too, Gamma?" she queried, so softly that, for a moment, she wasn't sure that he had heard her.

Silence fell upon them as she lay, curled up on her side, looking worryingly pale, whilst he knelt by her bedside, hands on her shoulders and an undecipherable expression on his face.

"She had...bad dreams sometimes," he said, just as quietly as she had spoken before.

She nodded, her eyes unfocussed.

Yes, mama _would_ have had bad dreams.

Did she, too, dream of her death?

She lowered her eyes at the thought –not just the thought of dying, or of dreams, but at the thought of the inescapable fate that seemed to surround them all. "But she never once let them frighten her off, princess," continued Gamma, letting his hands fall from her shoulders, only to cup her small, cherubic face in his larger hands. "Your mother had a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders, just as you do, and will do in the future."

It was only when he started brushing his thumbs against the corners of her eyes that she realised she had been crying. "So, these bad dreams _will_ continue. The trick is," he paused to brush the rest of her face clean of any sign of tears, "the trick is to fight against them. To not let them overwhelm you."

His eyes met hers as she stared at him, almost desperately. "At the end of the day, princess, it's your life. No matter what you have to fight against, or _who_ you have to fight against, it's your life. Your mother never stopped fighting, and I don't believe you will either. If anything, you'll probably be...be stronger than she was, what with everything."

She stared up at him through still somewhat shadowed eyes, unable to detect any sign of dishonesty from within the depths of those warm, _kind_ eyes.

'_From the day we are born, human beings are born to die_,' she remembered her mother telling her, holding her small frame in an embrace as they sat outside in the garden, free of all responsibilities and expectations than those of a parent and child.

'_Remember that, Uni,' _she had said, _'for, when...or if the time comes, that piece of knowledge will be a comfort. No matter how old, or how young, we are all born to die.' _

Another figure entered the room, followed by three others, and her eyes left the man by her bedside to focus on them.

"I thought you might like something to drink, princess," came the deep voice of Tazaru, as he made his way towards her, a bright orange mug in his hands. "It's hot chocolate," he added, seeing her gaze rest on the mug.

She lifted her eyes to his usually stern face, seeing only kindness in his features.

"Are you...okay, princess?" queried a somewhat hesitant voice, peering around the figure one of the other guardians who had entered the room. The fuchsia hair that she saw was enough to tell her who it was, and, as her eyes wandered from what she could see of Nosaru's face to those of the other guardians in the room, she felt the suffocating grip of fear around her heart loosen.

They were worried for her; _her_, the 'princess' they had only met two weeks ago, after the death of their much beloved, charismatic Boss, who just so happened to be her mother.

"What the –is the whole _household_ here?" queried Gamma, breaking her from her thoughts as he sent Tazaru a somewhat annoyed glance.

"I didn't ask them to come," mumbled the dark skinned man, looking a touch uncomfortable, "They just...well, we all heard the screams...and it was...they were just..." his voice trailed off uncertainly and she saw his gaze turn to her.

Her mother had said that their blood was cursed, that it had been cursed for generations.

'_But, whatever happens, if you want to make your surroundings happy, please smile, and laugh.'_

Her eyes moved from Gamma, to Tazaru and her orange mug that was still in his hands, to the outspoken but then shy Nosaru, to the three guardians standing at the foot of her bed...and she discovered that her heart had stopped pounding in her ears.

Whatever was meant to happen would happen –if it was indeed her fate, then she could fight against it, but the outcome would, quite possibly, be the same.

"What's going on here? What are you doing invading Uni-sama's room like this? Don't you all have other duties to take care of?"

"Calm down, Phantom Knight. We're just checking to see if the princess is alright."

"Stop behaving in such a foolish manner. Who's in charge of security while you're all crowding this room and the hallway? Any half-witted idiot could waltz inside in the middle of all of this!"

A wave of fatigue washed over her, and she found her eyelids drooping.

Whatever the future held in store, whoever's betrayal she would have to accept, and whoever's blood thirsty plans of world dominion she would have to bring a gradual halt to, that was all to be dealt with on another day.

For now, she was just a little girl surrounded by a family that really _did_ care about her, even after such a short time of knowing each other.

A smile curved the corners of her frozen lips upwards, even as her eyes drifted shut.

"Will all of you shut up? She's falling asleep again."

"Hmphf. Get out, all of you. And _quietly, _Nosaru."

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm-"

"Nosaru! _Shhhh!"_

"Sorry, aniki, I-"

"Out, all of you!"

The necklace that lay atop her bedside table glowed with a faint, orange light.

_Uni...when you're happy, smile with your heart._

* * *

It was later in that same year that she found herself in Japan, her ever-faithful and sometimes over-protective family in tow. She had received a summons from her fellow Arcobaleno, indicating that he had a student he wanted her to meet.

She had been curious about the summons, but had refrained from taking the time to question the Sun Arcobaleno –life in the Giglio Nero headquarters had been getting a bit dull, what with the Vongola's Independent Assassin Squad always beating them to their targets, and she could tell that her family was becoming more and more restless. So what better way to relieve them of this than a change of scenery?

She continued to skip down the road, the hem of her pale pink, knee length dress swirling with her movements. Although she couldn't see them, she knew that her guardians were out and about, doing as they always did and keeping an eye out on their 'princess'.

An image of them putting up with the sweltering heat while in their very professional black suits and sunglasses popped into her head, and she couldn't quite suppress the giggles that left her lips.

She _had_ told them that they could change into something more casual, but no, they had been adamant to do their duty while dressed as they normally did.

Shaking her head lightly, she quickly stepped aside for the elderly lady walking towards her, returning the grateful smile she received with a bright one of her own. As she continued on her way with a light spring to her step, she made no indication of noticing the looks that the other pedestrians were sending her, no doubt as they wondered what the cheery, foreign child was doing out on her own.

Turning the corner rather more abruptly than she should have, she found herself colliding with someone, although said someone had the sense to steady them both before either of them could topple to the hard pavement.

Blinking in sheepish surprise, she looked up at her temporary saviour, a smile ready on her lips.

"I'm sorry," she said, her Japanese sounding a little hesitant to her own ears. "I wasn't watching where I was going." Inwardly, she hoped that neither Gamma nor the others shadowing her got the wrong impression and thought she was being attacked.

The taller boy shook his head, a sheepish expression on his own face.

"No, no, it was my fault," he said, as he bent down and retrieved his book bag from where it had fallen before turning to look at her. "I wasn't—"

She curiously watched as the pair of warm, brown eyes widened so much that she was almost afraid they would pop out of their sockets.

"Are you alright?" she found herself asking, peering up at the young man's face and ignoring the sudden _thump-thump-thump_ of her heart. He didn't look to be very old, perhaps in his late teens, and he was looking at her as though he had seen a ghost.

_I'm not a ghost, young man with nice eyes, I'm not a ghost yet._

"Dame-Tsuna. What do you think you're doing?"

She wondered how she had missed the second figure, the one that had been behind the young man with nice eyes, for the light that was emanating from the necklace around his neck was quite noticeable.

"Uncle Reborn!" she chirped, her smile widening.

The Arcobaleno baby smirked up at her, even as she held her arms out for him to jump into.

"It's been a while, huh?" he asked, making himself comfortable in her arms.

She nodded.

"It certainly has," she replied, "And I'm glad that you asked me to come and visit. You couldn't have asked at a better time, because everyone was getting-"

"Uni...?"

She looked up, a startled expression crossing her face as she stared at the brown haired boy.

"Yes?" she found herself asking, before she could think it through.

The wide brown eyes stared down into her naturally wide blue pair for a long moment, and the question that she had been about to ask him died on her tongue as she noticed him swallow, looking quite as though he was on the verge of tears.

"It's... I –you..." he trailed off, his voice hoarse. "I... It's really you..."

She blinked, tilting her head to a side as she wondered what she was meant to say to that.

"Yes, it is," she replied, after a moment. "But..." She paused. "Do I know you?"

He looked surprise, but he quickly shook his head.

"N-no," he said, voice still hoarse. "No, you...don't." There was something about the way he said that that told her it was a falsehood.

"You're lying," she stated, her brows furrowed.

He shook his head again.

"No! I'm...I'm not lying," he repeated, although his grip on his book bag was strong enough to imply that he was either uncomfortable with her, or with his answer.

"You _are_ lying," she commented, unconsciously tightening her embrace of the Sun Arcobaleno in her arms. "But that's okay. Sometimes, people lie to protect others, or for another good cause..." She smiled brightly up at him, her blue eyes positively glowing, "And you seem like one of those people."

He continued to stare at her and –wait, were those _tears_ in his eyes? "Um, excuse me for asking, but are you okay...?"

Her attention was drawn to the Arcobaleno in her arms as he shifted, so that he could look at her.

"Ignore him for a moment, he's just proving how useless he really is," commented the Sun Arcobaleno. "But, since he's here, and you're here too...allow me to introduce you to my useless student."

Understanding mixed with surprise dawned on her as she looked at the older boy once more.

"Ah, so he's the one you wanted me to meet," she mused, staring innocently at the other. "Are you sure I don't know him, Uncle?" she asked, after a moment, unaware of the smirk on her Uncle's lips.

"I don't know, Uni, you tell me."

Her brows furrowed as she wondered what kind of an answer _that_ was.

"I hope you're enjoying being Uncle Reborn's student," she said, after a moment or two of continued silence, wondering why he blanched at that. "I'm Uni –but, you knew that already. Somehow..." She trailed off with a smile.

"Y...Yeah..."

A moment later, her Uncle had jumped out of her arms, and had landed a rather solid kick to the boy's face. "OW! OW OW OW –R-Reborn! What was that for-?!"

"Dame-Tsuna. Aren't you going to introduce yourself? Or have you forgotten your manners?"

With a dark look at the 'baby', the spiky haired boy pulled himself back to his feet.

"I'm... Tsuna," he said, his eyes taking on a rather distant look. "Sawada Tsunayoshi. It's nice to...meet you."

The _thump-thump-thump_ of her heart had increased, and, as she continued to stare at him, she realised that not only did he _look_ familiar, but he sounded familiar too.

But where could she have seen him?

She'd never really been to Japan before, and had only heard the stories that her mother had told her, before she had passed away a few years ago.

Sawada Tsunayoshi...

"_Come –come with us!_ _We'll protect you!"_

"_You can't give up! We've gotten this far-!!"_

"_Ughn... I...won't hand Uni...over to you..."_

"_Uni? Wait, Uni!! There's no reason for you to sacrifice yourself for the Arcobaleno!"_

"_It's alright Uni!"_

"_UNI!!"_

The images that flitted around in her head were blurred, but the voice wasn't, neither was the last desperate, pained scream of her name.

Her blue eyes widened slowly as she remembered another time, just one other time, where she had heard that same scream –that night, seven months ago, when she had had _that_ dream.

That man...that pale haired man...

...The Trinisette...

The Arcobaleno...

And Gamma –kind, loyal Gamma...

"...Uni?"

Blinking quickly, she refocused her eyes on the young man standing before her, the same young man who had protected her, and the same young man who, probably, had cried for her, at the end.

Swallowing against _her_ suddenly dry throat, she smiled, fighting to keep laughter from leaving her lips.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sawada-san," she replied, honestly.

Being the Sky Arcobaleno that she was made it difficult for her refuse to believe in Fate...but if there was one thing that she now knew for sure, it was that Fate worked in _very_ strange ways.

For, why would she be allowed to re-call someone who she had never really met before? Not in _this_ lifetime, at least?

"Did I tell you that this useless kid is also the Vongola Decimo?"

Her eyes crinkled in her smile, even as Sawada-san sent his tutor a horrified look.

"R-Reborn! Don't go announcing that to everyone! It's –OW!"

"Dame-Tsuna, don't tell me what to do."

Perhaps all of this was a sign, telling her that this time, her future, her _fate_, needn't be so bleak?

She closed her eyes with a sigh.

Only time would tell.

And until then, she should make the best of her life.

* * *

**A/N**

Okay, and that's the end of that. The last part, with Tsuna, just came out of nowhere, but once I started typing it...well, I couldn't just _leave_ it. Sigh. Now I'm wondering if it was too much.

Aaaaanyways, I hope this was a good read, and I really hope that more people write fanfiction with Uni! And if you're looking for anyone responsible for my actually writing this piece, blame it on the wonderful _Amano Akira_, and chapters 276 – 280 of _Katekyo Hitman Reborn_. Specifically the last two. And I've taken Uni's age to be around 6/7 years old, while Tsuna's around 18 in the last part of this fic.

Sigh, alright-y then, that's it from me here.

Till next time,

Siriusgirl1


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